An Advertising Genius Falls into the Joseon Era - Chapter 14

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 14
The Fish Market Stall reeked of salt and brine.
Dried fish hung in rows along one wall, while heaps of salt lay piled on the floor.
Song Do-hyeon swept in wearing brilliant silks that billowed behind him.
“Good day to you.”
“Well, who do we have here? Isn’t it Song, the Manager?”
The stall’s proprietor, a man surnamed Jang, rose with obvious pleasure—though his face betrayed both warmth and an undercurrent of unease.
“What brings you to this humble place?”
“I simply wanted to see you, that’s all.”
A Manager of Mansa stood to merchants like heaven itself.
Trading with Mansa was itself a seal of approval—a guarantee that one dealt in carefully vetted goods.
To fall out of Mansa’s favor in Uiju meant abandoning trade altogether.
And Song Do-hyeon, being spoken of as the next Deputy Director, weighed even more heavily on Jang’s mind.
Plop.
Song Do-hyeon settled naturally into the chair where Jang had been sitting just moments before.
He smoothed his robes and asked casually,
“You’ve been well, I trust?”
“Well enough, I suppose. And you, Song? No troubles?”
“There is one matter that occupies my thoughts, actually……”
A thin smile crossed Song Do-hyeon’s lips.
“But it should resolve itself soon enough.”
Yet his expression shifted at once, and with the ease of a seasoned operator, he turned the conversation.
“But tell me—how is business these days?”
“Oh, well enough to keep bread on the table.”
Jang waved his hand modestly.
In truth, his stall did brisk business, but one did not boast of success before a Mansa Manager.
“By the way, that salt you brought us recently—we received it well.”
Jang added carefully, gauging his visitor’s reaction.
“From Taean Mountain, wasn’t it? The quality is excellent.”
“Indeed.”
Song Do-hyeon’s gaze drifted across the stall, his response perfunctory—though his eyes lingered on the salted fish hanging to one side.
“Is there anything else you need, then?”
“Hmm. Dried squid has been in high demand lately. If you could source some, it would help considerably……”
Jang paused, then posed his question carefully.
“Do you think it’s possible?”
“Of course it is.”
Against expectation, Song Do-hyeon agreed readily.
“I have connections in Gangneung. I’ll make the effort.”
“Ah! There’s no one quite like you!”
“Think nothing of it.”
Song Do-hyeon smiled warmly.
“Anything you need, just say the word. I’ll roll up my sleeves for you—you’re like an elder brother to me.”
“Song……thank you!”
Jang nodded, visibly moved by the words.
“Ah, that’s right!”
Just then,
Song Do-hyeon began rummaging through his things.
“I heard your daughter gave birth to a son recently……”
“How in the world did you know that?”
Jang’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“Would I not keep track of everything concerning you? I even know what you had for lunch yesterday.”
“Ha, you’re something else.”
Jang scratched his head, looking embarrassed.
A moment later, Song Do-hyeon produced a gift and set it before him.
“Here. A present for you.”
“What is it?”
Jang eyed it with curiosity.
What Song Do-hyeon had handed over was none other than a brush.
It seemed oddly out of place in this fish-scented locale.
“A brush?”
“It’s something we procured with great difficulty from the finest brush shop in Hanyang. Shouldn’t grasping a brush at his first birthday ceremony set him on the path to becoming an accomplished man?”
Song Do-hyeon spoke as though it were nothing.
“There’s no need to trouble yourself with such things…….”
“Please accept it as a token of my sincerity.”
“I’m grateful, Song. I’ll gladly receive it.”
Chang’s expression brightened noticeably.
With Song Do-hyeon’s thoughtful gesture in arranging even a gift for his grandson’s first birthday ceremony, a warm and cordial atmosphere settled over the Fish Market Stall.
Yet it was short-lived.
Song Do-hyeon’s expression abruptly shifted, his voice dropping lower.
“But there is one thing I must ask of you.”
“A request? What sort of request?”
By then, Song Do-hyeon’s gaze had grown cold as stone, utterly indifferent.
“You’ll need to purchase some salted fish from me.”
“Purchase salted fish?”
Chang glanced toward one corner of the shop, bewilderment crossing his face. Already stacked there from the previous delivery were mountains of salted fish.
It was something Song Do-hyeon had already noted with his own eyes. Yet despite this, he continued with his ostensible favor.
“Yes. Circumstances have dictated it.”
“Hmm…….”
Chang hesitated, taken aback by the unexpected request.
But he could hardly refuse the Manager of Mansa outright.
After a moment’s deliberation, Chang asked carefully.
“I see. How much should I purchase?”
“Seventy bundles should suffice.”
“Seventy bundles?”
Chang’s voice rose sharply.
Seventy bundles meant fourteen hundred fish.
From a small shop like his, perhaps sixty salted fish sold in a month—he’d need a full two years just to move that quantity.
“Seventy bundles is simply…….”
As Chang balked at such a staggering volume, Song Do-hyeon tilted his head with feigned confusion.
“Why? Do you refuse?”
“No, it’s not that…… It’s just that you’ve suddenly appeared with such a request, and I find myself quite at a loss…….”
“At a loss?”
One corner of Song Do-hyeon’s mouth lifted into a smile.
Chang wiped away the sweat beading on his brow and continued speaking.
“As you well know, seventy bundles of salted fish comes to three hundred fifty nyang, doesn’t it? Three hundred fifty nyang is half a year’s profits for us.”
The quantity Song Do-hyeon had proposed matched precisely half a year’s turnover for the Fish Market Stall. In fact, Song Do-hyeon had already known this.
‘Looking at what we’ve pulled from them, the accounting works out exactly.’
Before arriving at the Fish Market Stall, Song Do-hyeon had gathered intelligence on the merchants with whom he dealt and compiled a detailed roster.
Inventory, personal circumstances, and any recent matters of note.
And based on that roster, he was now systematically compelling each one to purchase salted fish.
“I’m sorry, Song. I must decline.”
Yet even under such pressure, Chang made clear his refusal, his tone apologetic.
“If you’d given me advance notice, perhaps. But where would such a sum come from on short notice?”
In truth, if Chang were willing to strain himself, there was no reason he couldn’t take on the salted fish.
But the problem with accepting such a consignment was that it would tie up every last piece of capital he possessed.
To have one’s lines of credit frozen was, for a merchant, tantamount to a death sentence. For Chang, it was a proposal he simply could not accept.
As though understanding Chang’s position, Song Do-hyeon nodded.
“I anticipated as much. I’ve already devised a solution.”
With that, Song Do-hyeon unfolded a single sheet of paper across the table. It was densely covered in characters.
Chang looked at it with confusion.
“What is this?”
“A promissory note.”
“A promissory note?”
Chang’s eyes widened in alarm.
“You sign the note and receive the goods first. You can pay the price gradually over time.”
“But……!”
Chang could not hide his distress.
A promissory note.
This was, in effect, nothing more than coerced purchase of the salted fish.
“Hmm……!”
Song Do-hyeon watched the Promissory Note lying before them, and Jang’s deliberation deepened.
Even if he were to buy the salted fish right away, factoring in the interest would be an unbearable burden. No matter how he managed to sell the salted fish, once the interest was paid, there was nothing left to keep.
Then, as if understanding such concerns, Song Do-hyeon spoke.
“Instead, I’ll waive the interest for six months.”
“No interest at all!”
At the mention of no interest, color flooded back into Jang’s face—which had been dull as earthen moments before.
Now the proposition was entirely different.
To receive goods first without spending a single coin was an absolute gain.
There was a six-month constraint, but within that span, if he could only manage to sell the salted fish, he’d pocket money with every sale.
Jang had no reason to refuse.
It was an offer too good to pass up.
Rather, it was Jang himself who asked cautiously.
“Is that truly acceptable?”
“What sort of relationship do we have? Of course it’s acceptable.”
“Hmm, well then, there’s nothing to deliberate.”
In the end, Jang accepted Song Do-hyeon’s proposal.
“I understand. I’ll purchase the salted fish.”
“A wise decision. You need only sign here.”
Once Jang’s consent was given, Song Do-hyeon pushed the Promissory Note forward.
“But I don’t have a brush……”
Suddenly realizing there was no brush to write the Promissory Note with, Song Do-hyeon glanced around.
“Ah!”
Song Do-hyeon’s gaze naturally turned to the brush in Jang’s hand—the very brush he’d gifted moments before, telling him to use it for his grandson’s First Birthday Ceremony.
“Use that one.”
“This, this one?”
Though Jang was taken aback by the suggestion, Song Do-hyeon spoke as though it were the simplest thing in the world.
“A brush can be washed clean and returned to you, can’t it?”
“Well, that’s true, I suppose.”
“Then use that brush.”
“Ah, very well.”
Reluctantly, Jang began to sign with the brush meant for his grandson’s First Birthday Ceremony.
“Write it this way: ‘I, Jang, am purchasing seventy bundles of salted fish for three hundred fifty nyang.'”
“I understand.”
At the current market rate, Jang filled out the Promissory Note without the slightest hesitation.
Song Do-hyeon watched the scene unfold with satisfaction.
“Is it done?”
“Thank you for your trouble. I’ll have the seventy bundles of salted fish sent to you shortly.”
“I’m obliged to you. Song. I won’t forget this kindness.”
“I’m the one who should be grateful. For purchasing our goods.”
Song Do-hyeon tucked the Promissory Note into his breast. Then he rose from his seat and bowed.
“Then I’ll be on my way. Thank you for your time.”
“Take care on the way back.”
With the contract concluded, Song Do-hyeon left the Fish Market Stall. As he turned away, his face bore a cold smile.
“Remarkable.”
Song Do-hyeon murmured, studying the Promissory Note.
“It’s almost too easy.”
Each manager had been allocated two hundred bundles of salted fish.
In mere hours, Song Do-hyeon had filled thirty percent of his quota, and his face brimmed with undisguised satisfaction.
“Next, I should try the Fish Market Stall on Seo-gyo.”
Yet Song Do-hyeon was not satisfied.
This opportunity was his chance to decisively pin Ha Yoon down.
So completely that he would never rise again.
Song Do-hyeon quickened his pace.
“The owner there—wasn’t his surname Park?”
Despite having maintained acquaintance with him for ten years already, Song Do-hyeon had never committed his name to memory.
Song Do-hyeon checked the ledger and nodded.
“Ah, that’s right. Park. He purchased dried goods to the tune of one hundred nyang recently…… Thirty bundles should be sufficient for this place.”
Relying on the ledger, Song Do-hyeon turned his steps toward the Fish Market Stall run by Park.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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